Effects of acute water load, hypertonic saline infusion, and furosemide administration on atrial natriuretic peptide and vasopressin release in humans.

A new specific RIA for a-human atrial natriuretic hormone (ahANP) was used to determine whether changes in plasma volume elicited by acute water loading, hypertonic saline infusion, and furosemide administration caused changes in ANP release and resultant changes in renal and cardiovascular function in normal subjects. In addition, changes in plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), PRA, and aldosterone concentrations were studied simultaneously. Mean plasma ahANP and AVP levels were 51.3 ± 16.0 (±SE) and 3.1 ± 0.6 pg/ml, respectively, in the basal state. Plasma ahANP rose to 77.8 ± 27.6 in response to a 4.5% increase in plasma volume induced by water loading, increased further to 134.1 ± 28.9 in response to a 23% volume increase induced by hypertonic saline, and fell to 70.2 ± 15.8 pg/ml in response to a decrease in plasma volume after furosemide treatment (P 〈 0.01–0.05). On the other hand, plasma AVP fell to 1.8 ± 0.1 pg/ml after the water load, rose to 4.1 ± 0.6 after hypertonic saline, and rose further to ...